Twisted fairing



Aug. 24, 1937. T. p. WRIGHT TWISTED FAIRING Filed March 30,- 1934 INVENTOR. ODORBP. WRIGHT.

Patented Aug. 24, 1937 r 2,090,775

UNITEDISTATES PATENT OFFICE TWISTED FAIRIN G Theodore P. Wright, Buflalo, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Curtiss-Wright Corporation, a corporaton of New York Application March 30, 1934, Serial No. 718,118 3iClaims. (11244-130) This invention relates to aircraft, and is parsection is parallel to such local air flow. A furticularly concerned with improvements in the ther and more detailed object of the invention is streamlining of struts or the like forming structo provide a streamline wing bracing strut wheretural parts of aircraft. a in successive longitudinal. axes or chords of suc- In most forms of present-day aircraft it is cessive cross sections of the streamline strut sec- 5 customary to find external struts or structural tion are angularly divergent one from the other. members joining or' bracing certain portions of Other objects will be apparent from a reading the aircraft. For instance, in biplanes, interof the subjoined specification and claims and plane struts are used for bracing the wings, these from a consideration of the accompanying drawstruts sometimes addressing one or the other ihg.

wing to which they are attached at an acute an- The method by which the proper twisting of gle. Similarly, in monoplanes, wing struts usualthe streamline fairing, or the proper angular ly join an outer wing portion with the fuselage relation of the,major streamline axis to the linefor assuming lift loads or the like. Such struts of local air flow is obtained, is as followsz-The address both the fuselage and the wing at acute strut to be faired is equipped witha plurality of 15 angles. On any such exposed struts, it is cussectional streamline blocks, each rotatable upon tomary to attach streamline fairing to reduce the strut. Each block may be provided with a parasite drag of the strut whereby loss of speed vane at its trailing edge to act much like a is minimized- Frequently, these struts are atweather vane, whereby the individual block will tached to elements of the aircraft over which be alignedwith the direction of, and by, the local 0 the air flows in a path somewhat divergent from air flow. Flight or wind tunnel tests of the airthe actual line of flight of the craft. For incraft may then be made, and the actual air stance, on the upper surface of wings, the air passing over the strut will cause the streamline flow is diverted upwardly by the influence on the blocks to rotate upon the strut until they reach H air stream due to the leading edge of the wing. an equilibrium position wherein the drag for the Thus, the air flow adjacent the top Wing surface, strut at that point will be at an absolute miniinstead of following the contour or profile of the mu'm. Thereafter, the positions of the several wing, slants upwardly. In the same manner, the blocks on the strut may be quantitatively establocal air flow at various points on the aircraft lished and a unit fairing for covering the whole may or may not be parallel to the surface of the strut may then be fabricated, such fairing conelement, and may or may not be parallel to the forming at successive cross sections thereof with line of flight. If any struts, bracing members the position reached by the test blocks. Alteror other elements of the aircraft lie in this region natively, the unit strut or member may be fabriof diverted air flow, it is logical that to reduce cated to conform to the test block positions.-

the drag of those elements to the greatest extent Thus, the strut fairing will have an optimum possible, their streamline conformation should be efliciency for reducing the drag of the strut with such that the major axis of the streamline secwhich it is associated, and the local air flow as tion should be parallel to the local air flow in the influenced by adjacent wings or other surfaces region of such cross section. Thus, the full will be compensated. -A result of fairings organbenefit of the streamline section is realized. If ized in accordance with this invention is that the 40 all streamline struts are so organized that the air flow ojver wings'or other surfaces, with which major axis of any cross section is strictly parthe strut is ,eiated, will'be smoother and more allel to the line of flight, the minimum drag is uniform, due" to. l the smooth and uniform air flow not necessarily attained-local air flow at varivs over the strutitself. In actual aircraft in which points along such struts may be so angularly this invention has been embodied, noticeable ,in- 45 divergent from the line of flight that a considercrements in speed have been attained over similar ably greater drag is afiorded by the local streamaircraft not equipped with the devices of this line section than would be attained if such inventionstreamline section were twisted to conform to the An examplef the appl c n of the P ipl line of local air flow. It is, then, an object of of this inventloiiis shown in the accompanying 50 this invention to provide for theminimization drawing, in which: of parasite drag by placing the streamlining on Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the forward porall exposed portions of an aircraft, in such relation of an airpla looking forwardly, Showing tion to the local air stream flowing thereover, a strut embodying the streamline fairing; that the major axis or chord of the streamline Fig. 2 is a fragmentary rear elevation of a-por- 55 lage,-and a power plant major axis of which -of the fuselage I I.

and fuselage of the airplane, with the fairing of the invencraft may utilize this invention-the embodiment shown is a low-wing monoplane wherein a wing l extends laterally out from the lower portion The usual cockpit l2, provided with a cockpit closure I3, is formed in the fusethe fuselage H provides the necessary propulsive effort. In order to strengthen the wings, a strut l5 extends from the upper portion of the fuselage ll, downwardly and outwardly to the wing I0. A second strut l6 may also be provided rearwardly of the first strut, both being attached to the inner structural members of the'wing in conventional manner. The upper half of the strut I5 is provided with a streamline fairing H, the is substantially parallel to the line of flight of the aircraft. This upper half of the strut, as is clear from the drawing, is in a relatively free zone wherein adjacent bodies such as the fuselage or wing have little effect upon the air flow passing thereover. The lower half. of the strut l5 joins the wing at a ratheracute angle. The air flow over the upper wing'surface is diverted from parallelism with the line of flight of the aircraft by the profile of the wing and tends to flow upwardly and rearwardly. Therefore,the

'air flow over the lower half of the strut I5 is not parallel to the line of fligh In order to reduce the parasite drag of the lower end of the strut to a minimum, a twisted fairing -l8 is attached thereto, the fairing, at its lower end I! being so twisted that the major axis of the streamline section slants upwardly and rearwardly in substantial parallelism with the'local air flow at that point. The twist of the fairing from the line of flight becomes less as the fairing becomes more remote from the wing and the influence of the diverted air stream, so that, at ".s upper end, the major axis of the streamline section is substantially parallel with the line of flight and joins the fairing l1 and the upper relation. In Fig. 3, the axis AA denotes the major axis of the streamline fairing section at points where the air flow is substantially parallel to the direction of flight. The axis 3-3 is that of the streamline section of the fairing l8 at its lower end, close to the wing Hi. It will be noted that there is a very substantial angular diver-' gence between the axes AA and B-Bjand it is this angular divergence which lends greater efficiency to the streamline section in its relation to the airplane. .The axes AA and 3-13, and in- Il at the forward end of ultimate object being parting from the spirit or scope ing a strut entering said half of the strut in flush.

termediate axes between the two points at which these'axes exist in the strut, are all substantially parallel to the local air flow where such axes occur. As previously mentioned, the actual twist of the fairings at successive stages along the strut is preferably obtained by experiment in wind tunnels orin flight.

The principles involved in this invention are equally applicable to the conformation of the surfaces of wings, bodies, cowlings and thelike, the

to make all exposed surfaces subject to the .air stream as nearly parallel with the local air flow as possible, whereby the minimum of drag for the entire aircraft may be attained.

While I have described my invention in detail in its present preferred" embodiment, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art, after understanding my invention, that various changes and modifications may be made therein without dethereof. I aim in the appended claims to cover all such modifications and changes.

What is claimed is:

l. A streamlined strut major strut are angularly divergent one from the other without a break in continuity of either the leading or the trailing edge of said strut.

2. In aircraft having a'surface organized to divert air flow thereover to an angularly divergent path relative to the line of flight, and havsurface at an angle thereto, said'strut being subject to said angularly divergennair flow, means for reducing the drag of said strut comprising a streamlined fairing embracing andfixed'to said strut, said fairing being twisted through its length to provide a plurality of successive streamlined profiles each having its major axis in substantial parallelism with the direction of1ocal diverted air flow at each 3. In aircraft having an airfoil wherein the upper cambered surface thereof is" organized to divert local air flow away from the airfoil chord line, and a strut intersecting said surface and lying at an acute angle there o, a streamlined fairing fixed to said strut,the fairing being twisted through its length to provide a streamlined. fairing section close to said surface having its major axis slanting upwardly and rearwardly therefromand to provide fairing sections successively more remote from said surface having their major axes respectively approaching parallelism withsaid airfoil chord line.

THEODORE P. WRIGHT. 

